The La Porte High School Cheerleaders didn’t let the rain stop them on Saturday morning from holding their Slicer Color Run for Fun. It was a 5K run/walk to generate funds for the squad beginning and ending at La Porte’s beautiful Stone Lake Beach.
Click here to see more photos!
Runners braved the chilly temperatures and, at times, heavy showers as they made their way up and down hills and through wooded areas trying to get their best possible time or to simply enjoy a brisk morning walk. The weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of these Slicer fans who donned their white 5K themed t-shirts over layers of clothes to try and stay warm and dry.
From the Beach House runners were easy to spot clear across Stone Lake as they charged forward. As the race progressed however, those clean white shirts were soon smattered with bright areas of red, pink, purple, blue and yellow. This is where the “color” in Color Run comes in.
Throughout the course Slicer Cheerleaders and coaches had set up yellow road blocks and laid down large squares of plastic for the runners to run through. As they passed by cheerleaders doused the competitors in colored powder that soon covered those new shirts and, with the rain, created a brilliant tie-dye effect. This assured that the memories of this Slicer Color Run would stay with them forever.
Callie Lidgard, Slicer Cheerleader coach, was at the race making sure everything ran smoothly and spoke about how important these fundraisers are. “These events are such a big help to what we do,” Lidgard said. “We’re raising money here today to help fund our Cheer Camp which will be going on in the middle of June. The camp is a great opportunity for our 37 Junior Varsity and Varsity cheerleaders to go and build on what they already know and to learn new skills. It’s also a great team bonding experience for them. They get a chance to work together and really get to know one another.”
Fundraising plays a large part for not only the Cheer Camp but also the squad’s ability to travel around and attend state competitions throughout the year.
This winner of this year’s Slicer 5K Color Run for Fun was high school senior Trevor McDonald, who clocked in a time of 23:02. “I’ve always wanted to do a color run and this was such a fun opportunity,” McDonald said. “My sister is a cheerleader too so it’s also a great chance to come out and support her and the rest of the team.”
After all the racers had finished the young competitors and cheerleaders took what remained of the color powder and had a ‘color war.’ Plumes of color fell with the rain and participants were soon covered head-to-toe with bright pigment.